Links for Keyword: Tourettes

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Characterized by sudden jerking movements and uncontrollable tics and vocalizations, Tourette’s syndrome is a strange, often misunderstood condition. What is it like to live without full control of your body? Seven men and women talk about living with the twitches of Tourette’s. What is it like to live with a chronic disease, mental illness or confusing condition? In Patient Voices, we feature first person accounts of the challenges patients face as they cope with various health issues. Interactive Feature Patient Voices: Migraine Almost 30 million Americans suffer from migraines. What is it like to live with migraine pain? Six men and women speak about their experiences. Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 13764 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with Tourette syndrome - opening a new avenue for understanding the complex disorder that causes muscle and vocal tics. Until now, causes of Tourette syndrome (TS), which afflicts as many as 1 in 100 people, have eluded researchers because the disease appears to be caused by subtle mutations in many genes. The researchers published their findings in the October 14, 2005, issue of the journal Science. Matthew W. State of the Yale University School of Medicine was senior author of the paper. His research was supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute institutional award to Yale that was used to support early research by promising scientists at Yale. According to State, early theories suggesting that a single gene mutation causes TS have proven incorrect. “There has been an evolving hypothesis about Tourette syndrome being a much more complex disorder,” State said. “I think there is general consensus at this point that there are likely to be multiple genes, likely interacting, and probably different sets of genes in different people, that contribute to TS.” The notion of multiple genes is borne out by the complex phenotype of the syndrome, which is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or depression, said State. © 2005 Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders; Chapter 15: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders; Chapter 11: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Link ID: 8029 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Anne Miller Glass shards glistened sharply in a pool of water on the kitchen floor. My mom assured my fiance, Michael Davoli, that the old cheap glass didn't matter, but he still looked shell-shocked. He was always so careful to place drinks safely in front of himself: Anything too near his hands could be toppled. He helped my mother pick up the pieces and said he hadn't knocked over a glass in years. Such is life with Tourette's syndrome. Most people know the stereotype of unpredictable and uninhibited cursing or barking. Those symptoms do exist, for some people. But the truth is much more complicated. Michael, who has been my husband since August, doesn't curse unless he wants to. But as with the majority of people with Tourette's, there are myriad ways his inability to control some of his movements affects how he navigates his days. How and why people develop Tourette's remains a mystery. Research indicates a genetic tie: Those with Tourette's have a 50 percent chance of passing it to their children, and it's not unusual for someone with Tourette's to have a relative who also has the syndrome. The condition typically manifests in grade school, often with rapid eye blinks, and more often in boys than in girls. Medical experts estimate that as many as one in 100 people suffer from Tourette's. It is also associated with creative personalities: Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, writer Samuel Johnson and jazz great Thelonious Monk may have had it. In the sports world, Jim Eisenreich, who won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997, and Tim Howard, a goalie on the U.S. national soccer team, live with Tourette's. © 2010 The Washington Post Company

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 13971 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Mike Stobbe ATLANTA - Tourette's syndrome occurs in 3 out of every 1,000 school-age children, and is more than twice as common in white children as in blacks or Hispanics, according to the largest US study to estimate how many have the disorder. Tourette's - known for its physical tics and, in some cases, shouted obscenities - has long been considered a rare condition. The new number means it's more common than some past estimates, but confirms that it's far less common than other neurological conditions such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The racial gaps are probably the most surprising finding, the study's authors said. "Prior to this, we really had very little information about minorities," said Lawrence Scahill, a Yale University researcher. The study was released yesterday. It's not clear why whites have a higher rate or whether future studies will find the same disparity, specialists said. Some suspect it has less to do with genetics than with a difference in access to medical care or in attitudes about whether repetitive blinking or other tics require medical care. The study, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimates there are about 150,000 US children with Tourette's. The researchers also found that: Most cases were mild, but 1 in 4 were - in the parent's opinion - moderate or severe. Boys had a rate three times higher than girls. © 2009 NY Times Co.

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 12925 - Posted: 06.24.2010

DNA defect may cause involuntary physical and verbal tics. JOHN WHITFIELD Researchers have found a gene mutation that seems to lead to the mental disorder Tourette's syndrome. The gene is normally switched on in nerve cells; its disruption might make them hyperactive. The gene has been detected in only one family so far. Studies of more people with Tourette's syndrome are needed to confirm its involvement in the condition. "This gene might be involved in some people with Tourette's syndrome, but it won't be in all of them," says the leader of the team that found it, Ben Oostra, of Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 3946 - Posted: 06.24.2010

There is growing evidence that a common childhood throat infection increases the risk of neurological disorders such as Tourette's syndrome. Scientists found children with such disorders were twice as likely to have had recent streptococcal infections than their healthy peers. Researchers at Seattle's Center for Health Studies suggest the body's response to the infection may be key. But they tell the journal Pediatrics, that it is just one potential trigger. OCD is more commonly associated with adults, but the researchers say it affects around 1 to 2% of school-age children - and transient tics can affect 10 to 25% of primary school age children. Tourette's - a neurological disorder characterized by tics, involuntary vocalization, and, in some cases, the compulsive utterance of obscenities - affects around one in every 100 children to some degree. Scientists had suspected there may be a link between the streptococcal infection and neurological disorders. It has been suggested that the body's natural response to infection, where particular antibodies are produced and directed to parts of the brain, might be linked in some way to these disorders. However, it is not clear why most of the millions of children who have bacterial throat infections each year do not develop such disorders. (C)BBC

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders; Chapter 15: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders; Chapter 11: Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
Link ID: 7595 - Posted: 07.05.2005

By JANE E. BRODY A woman who lived for years in my neighborhood periodically appeared at a window and shouted obscenities into the street. Passers-by were appalled, but I felt what had to be the painful humiliation of someone who had no ability to control this seemingly antisocial behavior. I realized that the woman was afflicted with Tourette's syndrome, a lifelong neurological disorder with symptoms that contrary to popular belief, only rarely include the involuntary shouting of obscenities. I now know that the disorder is associated with a wide range of confusing symptoms that often result in delays in diagnosis and treatment that can last years. The problem was eloquently described in a two-part article last August in Contemporary Pediatrics. In his report, Dr. Samuel H. Zinner, a pediatrician at the University of Washington specializing in developmental and behavioral problems, points out that the syndrome "often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed." "Misconceptions about this tic disorder are customary," he adds, "with the syndrome often perceived as characterized by bizarre, fitful behaviors or comical outbursts of uncontrollable profanity." Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 6714 - Posted: 01.18.2005

By ANNETTE RACOND Certain moments in my life are like sharply focused snapshots that never fade. I was in my flannel pajamas watching TV in my parents' bedroom in Douglaston, N.Y., the day Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. More than a decade later, when news broke of John Lennon's death, I was cramming for a test in my dorm room at Boston University. On April 1, 2004, I had another such moment: My mother called to tell me that Jeff Matovic, a 31-year-old husband and father from Lyndhurst, Ohio, had become the first person with Tourette's syndrome in the United States to be treated with deep brain stimulation. His doctors say the procedure has so far relieved Mr. Matovic of the tics that came with his disorder. He is no longer a constant prisoner to the abrupt and repetitive muscle movements and vocalizations that made his life unbearable. Mr. Matovic can now experience the beauty of stillness. As a fellow Tourette's syndrome sufferer, Mr. Matovic's story has given me hope that maybe I, too, can be freed from my tics, twitches, bobs, nods, grunts, squirms, hiccups and jolting motions. Even though I exhibited symptoms of Tourette's syndrome at age 6, the disorder was not diagnosed until I was 28. Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 5977 - Posted: 08.10.2004

Doctors in the US have carried out brain surgery on a 31-year-old man in a bid to cure him of Tourette syndrome. Jeff Matovic from Ohio has had the disorder, which is characterised by uncontrollable vocalisations and movement, since he was six. Doctors used a technique called deep brain stimulation, which involves placing tiny electrodes inside the brain to regulate electrical activity. They say his symptoms have all but disappeared since the operation. "We were genuinely amazed at the patient's response," said Dr Robert Maciunas, who carried out the surgery. Deep brain stimulation has been used on patients with Parkinson's disease, to help reduce the shaking associated with the condition. The electrodes are placed deep inside the brain beside the thalamus, which controls movement. (C)BBC

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 5232 - Posted: 04.02.2004

One out of four students in special-education classes has a tic-related disorder like Tourette syndrome, and the rate of Tourette's among students in the general population is 50 to 75 times higher than has been traditionally thought by doctors, according to a study published in the Oct. 23 issue of the journal Neurology. The neurologists who did the study say that Tourette's comes in many forms, including variations much milder than the profanity-spewing, limb-jerking characters seen on TV shows like Ally McBeal and LA Law. Doctors say the findings should raise awareness among teachers and doctors that children who are performing poorly in school and who have tics may need medical treatment, and that such treatment could ease school difficulties for these students. "Most people view Tourette's as a very rare, unusual disorder with bizarre symptoms, but it's really very common, usually with mild symptoms," says Roger Kurlan, M.D., a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and lead author of the Neurology paper. ©Copyright University of Rochester Medical Center, 1999-2001.

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 913 - Posted: 11.03.2001

TAMPA, Fla (Sept. 17, 2001) -- A nicotine patch boosts the effectiveness of drugs administered to relieve the involuntary movements and other symptoms of Tourette's syndrome -- even when the drug dosage is cut in half, a University of South Florida College of Medicine study found. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Tourette's Syndrome Association of America. It demonstrated that a low-dose nicotine patch may be useful, particulary in alleviating the motor tics of children with Tourette's syndrome.

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 622 - Posted: 10.20.2001

tourette drug has unexpected effect A new study by Johns Hopkins Children's Center neurologists suggests that baclofen, a drug long thought to be effective in reducing the vocal and motor tics associated with Tourette syndrome, improves a patient's overall sense of well-being but does not significantly reduce tics. "One of our conclusions is that baclofen helps as a treatment for Tourette syndrome, but it appears to improve something other than tics," says pediatric neurologist Harvey Singer, M.D., the report's lead author. "We originally thought baclofen would diminish patients' vocal and muscular tics but found, instead, that it's more useful in making patients feel less impaired by their tics."

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 291 - Posted: 10.20.2001

What Makes Tics Tick? Clues Found In Tourette Twins' Caudates For the first time, scientists have a neurobiological explanation for the variation in severity of tics in Tourette Syndrome. Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have traced such symptom differences to "supersensitivity" of certain neurotransmitter receptors in the brain structure responsible for carrying out automatic behaviors. They suggest that this dysfunction may underlie the compulsion to act out the sudden movements and vocalizations that characterize Tourette Syndrome, which affects about 100,000 Americans with its full-blown form and up to 0.5% of the population with milder symptoms. The researchers report on their findings in the August 30th issue of Science. In a brain imaging study of identical twins differently affected by the disorder, Daniel Weinberger, M.D., Steven Wolf, M.D., and colleagues in the NIMH Clinical Brain Disorders Branch found that binding to D2 dopamine receptors in the caudate nucleus was higher in the sibling with the more severe symptoms.

Related chapters from BN: Chapter 16: Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavior Disorders
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 12: Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
Link ID: 290 - Posted: 10.20.2001